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. . . 

            “And this is why I don’t let you drive,” I stated matter-of-factly upon arriving at Uno. The elaborately decorated restaurant was a save haven to me. Holly’s driving skills could use a bit of work.

            An angry scowl appeared on her face. If only she knew it made her ten times cuter and not the least bit more intimidating. “Maybe if you didn’t snap at me all the time!” she accused.

            Rolling my eyes, I held back the smile threatening to spill across my face. “I didn’t snap at you. I just wanted you to be careful.”

            “It’s not like I was going to crash.”

            I smiled tensely. “But I didn’t want to take the chance. Imagine if you had crashed. I would feel terrible.” It was true. The only reason I was so snippy was because she couldn’t focus solely on the road. Every few seconds her eyes would flicker to me. Not that I could exactly blame her. When I was the one driving, my gaze would drift over to her multiple times.

            “Why would you feel terrible?” she asked, raising a delicate eyebrow. “You’re not the one who would have caused it. Well, actually, with the way you were snapping at me…”

            It was impossible to win with her. Ignoring her comment, I gripped her elbow, dragging her toward the entrance of the restaurant. “It’d be my fault for letting you drive. And if something happened to either one of us, you would feel like it was your fault, which would also make me feel bad.”

            “I am a good driver though,” she said quietly.

            Smiling, I ran my hand through her hair. “But not as good as me.”

            “You’re being such a worry wart!”

            I gave her a flat look. “Seeing as how both my parents and your father died in a car crash, I think I’m justified.”

            Immediately I regretted my words as he face paled. “Oh… Right. I’m sorry—”

            “Don’t apologize,” I interjected quickly, trying to sound lighthearted. “Forget I said anything. That was kind of a low blow.”

            “No, you’re right,” she sighed. Like usual. Always siding with me. “You have the right to be worried, but I really can drive well.”

            Once again I found myself resisting the urge to smile. She wasn’t going to let that go, was she? Even with her claims of being a good driver, she would never own up to me. The memories of the many races I’d been in from when I was in the gang rushed through my mind. Admittedly, we did some dangerous shit. But I came out alive, didn’t I? That had to prove something about my driving ability. “How long have you had your license for?” I questioned, genuinely curious.

            “Umm,” she hesitated, furrowing her eyebrows, “I’m not sure, actually.”

            I frowned. Did she even have her license? Was she lying to me? “Pull it out and let me see it.”

            “Okay,” she agreed easily, soothing my worries. Her hand went to her pocket and patted it. Then color drained from her face. “Oh no…”

            As an automatic reaction, my jaw clenched and my hands immediately balled into fists, ready to fight. My eyes scoured the parking lot, searching for any sign of someone who intended harm. “What?”

            The complete look of horror in her eyes caused my heart to skip a beat. The next words out of her mouth though, made me want to hit her. “I just drove without my license. It’s back at your house!”

            Relaxing, I shook my head, sighing loudly. “You scared me for a second,” I told her honestly.

            “I can’t believe I drove illegally,” she whispered in a stressed tone, completely ignoring my mini-heart attack. “What if we’d gotten pulled over?”

            “Calm down,” I ordered, pushing open the front door of the restaurant. “I used to drive without a license all the time.”

            “You were in a gang!” she responded predictably.

            I nodded. “True.”

            “Don’t be so calm about this!”

            Chuckling at her panicked expression, I threw my arms around her waist, pulling her to my chest. “Don’t get so worked up. We’re going to have a nice dinner, so be happy.” This way, I could take my mind off of all events that happened at the grocery store. Especially one with a certain blonde…

            An old woman, our waitress, came to greet us, leading us to a private booth at the back of the place. I kept my eyes peeled for anyone we might know, but luckily everyone around us happened to be strangers. When I was finished scanning the area, I returned my attention to the waitress, who was giving Holly a warm smile. Holly seemed a little surprised, the smile she was giving back a little too fake. I pressed my lips together tightly, holding in my laughter.

            “You look nervous,” the old woman commented, directing her comment to holly. “First date?” Her eyes briefly shot to me and she wagged her eyebrows.

            I had to remind myself it was rude to laugh at people.

            A cute blush blossomed on Holly’s cheeks and I regretted the fact it wasn’t me who’d caused it. “No, actually…” she trailed off; probably coming to the same realization I had earlier.

            “Actually, it is,” I announced, trying to steer clear of the awkwardness.

            “How lovely!” the old woman chirped. “What would you two like to drink?”

            “Coke,” Holly and I responded simultaneously. I held back another grin.

            The woman, on the other hand, broke out into a wide smile. “Just so you guys know, we have a menu right next to the salt shaker with our alcoholic drinks.”

            “Soda is fine,” I stated firmly.

            “Okay, I’ll be back with your drinks and to take your orders in a second,” she said, smiling at Holly once more before hobbling off.

            After a few seconds of watching her leave, I felt Holly’s curious eyes on me. “What?” I asked.

            “Why don’t you drink alcohol?” she inquired.

            Flashbacks of drunken brawls in the old hideout now filled my mind. Like almost every teenager, I’d been completely irresponsible with alcohol. Due to my intoxication, I’d sent at least ten people to the hospital. That was saying something though; I could still kick ass after five beers. “I don’t like it,” I finally responded, keeping my voice casual. “Nor do I enjoy getting drunk.” Or rather, having a hang over.

            She nodded, but didn’t let the topic drop. “You do realize you can drink without getting drunk, right?”

            Biting back a sarcastic remark, I pressed my lips together. Obviously I knew you could drink without becoming drunk. Memories of Shawn and his buddies’ crept up on me and I grit my teeth together. The night they’d attacked Holly, they’d been drinking, but not drunk enough to not know what they were doing. Alcohol was no excuse. “I said I don’t like it.”

            My words came out harsher than I intended. Holly’s expression fell, her mouth abruptly shutting, cutting off whatever remark she was about to make. After that she lowered her gaze and I mentally kicked myself. “What are you planning to get?” I asked, desperately wanting her attention back on me. Knowing her, she’d be sulking in her mind about now.

            “Er…” she hesitated, snatching up one of the menus. Her eyes lit up as they scanned the many meals, but then narrowed. “Probably a salad…”

            I pursed my lips at her. What was up with skinny girls and their weird diets? “If you’re dieting, you don’t need to—”

            “No,” she interjected, “I just like the chicken they serve with it.”

            Uh-huh.

            “What are you going to have?” she asked, turning the focus to me.

            A grin spread across my face. “Steak, of course.”

            She stared at me for a moment before shaking her head. I couldn’t help but smirk, knowing she wanted to order steak. I didn’t see why she wouldn’t. If she wasn’t on a diet, why would she want a salad?

            Our waitress returned, a notepad in hand, ready to take our orders. “What can I get you two?”

            “I’ll have the 8oz steak with mashed potatoes, and I guess she’ll have the grilled chicken salad,” I ordered for us, watching her conflicting emotions. The waitress threw her a sympathetic look before shuffling off.

            “You kind of remind me of my mom,” I started, shifting myself into a more comfortable position. “She didn’t like to eat in front of my dad when they were dating either. Or that’s what my dad told me at least.”

            Her cute doe-like eyes widened. “Really? What was she like?”

            “She was pretty clumsy,” I told her. “She was a veterinarian too. Because of that she came home crying a lot.” Thinking about my mother caused a grin to form on my face. Even if it was just a gerbil, if it died, she was in tears for hours. “She was really smart too,” I continued, complimenting her. “Cleaned all the time. A horrible cook.”

            “What about your dad?”

            My chest tightened. I’d been closer to him than my mom. Propping my elbow up on the table, I rested my chin on my fist. “Well, he was a teacher.”

            Surprised crossed her face again. “Really?”

            I nodded. “He’s why I became a teacher. Well, that and the fact my parole officer kind of said I had to do that or… Well, never mind.” She didn’t need to know about my ultimatum.

            “You can’t—” she started heatedly, but then cut herself off. A thoughtful expression appeared on her face.

            I decided to continue talking before she recomposed herself. “The funny thing is my dad was a high school drop out. He went back when he was twenty to finish it and then proceeded to college.

            “How old were your parents when… um, when the accident happened?” she mumbled quietly.

            I could tell it was a hard question for her to ask. That made me smile. “I think around forty five and fifty. I know there was a five-year difference between my dad and mom. What about Greg?”

            It was as if my words electrocuted her. “H-how do you know my dad’s name?” she demanded with a gasp.

            I raised an eyebrow. “I attended his funeral, Holly. Remember?”

            “Oh,” she said sheepishly. “Well, he was forty-two.”

            “And what was he like?” I prompted. Now that I told her about my parents, I wanted to hear about her dad. If he was anything like her mom, I wasn’t sure to feel bad for her, or be happy for her.

            “He was nice,” she said vaguely, frowning.

            It was clear she didn’t want to talk about him, but I still wanted her to. “And?” I encouraged.

            “He was a carpenter,” she told me. “He owned his own business. But, well, I guess he was a teacher at one point too. That’s how he met my mom…”

            That threw me a ball. I hadn’t realized her mom had been a teacher. “She was a teacher?”

            “Er… No. He was her teacher.”

            As soon as her words registered in my mind, I let out a sharp bark of laughter. That explained so much. “So that’s why your mom was so calm about our relationship.”

            Holly smiled prettily at me. “That’s what I thought. When she told me I was like, wow.”

            “Like mother, like daughter,” I commented teasingly.

            She rolled her eyes before going on to talk about the lab report I’d assigned in class. A grin settled on my face as I listened to her complaints about my class. If she actually paid attention in class instead of staring at me, she would learn better. But then again, I was a hypocrite. If I wasn’t with her all the time, I’d be able to hand back tests and quizzes the day after they were taken instead of weeks after.

            When our orders came I could tell Holly was eyeing my steak with a hungry gaze. I didn’t blame her. It was cooked to perfection, juice dribbling out from under it. Her flimsy salad was placed in front of her and I felt a pang of pity. After glowering at the healthy meal for a moment, she picked up her fork and stabbed it into a piece of chicken. I watched with an amused face as she wrinkled her nose. How could she make everything she did so cute? Deciding to take pity on her, I cut up a piece of my steak. “Say ‘ah’,” I started, anticipating her reaction.

            As expected, an adorable blush spread across her cheeks. “N-no!” she stuttered, completely embarrassed.

            A smirk played across my lips. How she found the simple act embarrassing, I would never know. But it was okay because I loved to tease her. “Come on,” I urged.

            “Mm-mm,” she responded, shaking her head.

            I leaned forward so I could jab my fork against her pink lips. “I won’t stop until you take it.” At my words, I almost laughed, but held it in.

            Apparently she hadn’t noticed the dirty undertone, because she finally opened her mouth. Unable to help myself, I made fake airplane noises as I pushed the fork into her mouth. She chewed and swallowed it before looking at me unhappily. I grinned. “That wasn’t so hard was it?”

            “It’s embarrassing,” she muttered, avoiding eye contact.

            I chuckled, knowing her embarrassment was my pleasure. “No one was watching. But I saw the way you eyed my meal.”

            Stubborn as usual, she ignored me, now stabbing her fork into a piece of lettuce. “I’m perfectly happy.”

            “Sure,” I responded skeptically. “Whatever. More of this juicy steak for me.”

            She gave me a dry look, but I continued to grin at her. Even if she mustered her dirtiest look, it couldn’t affect me. To further her humiliation, I cut a new piece of steak and placed it in my mouth, letting out a purposefully sexual groan.

            This time she rolled her eyes. “If you keep groaning, someone will think something.”

            Happy she caught on this time, I smiled at her wickedly. “Like what?”

            “Like… nothing,” she said quickly, looking away from me as her cheeks warmed up again.

            It was at that moment, I felt like a pervert. Her innocence was turning me on in a disturbing way. It was her fault for being so damn alluring. Getting myself under control, I decided to continue taunting her. “Get your mind out of the gutter, Holly.” And you too, Chris, I added in my mind.

            Holly stared at her food, now shoving a cherry tomato into her mouth. She gagged a little, making my heart skip a beat. I tensed, ready to perform the Heimlich maneuver. Fortunately she had it under control and put a hand to her mouth, once again letting her gaze float to the floor.

            I smiled at her warmly. This was exactly why I loved her. “You’re so cute, Holly.”

            Wiping her mouth, she shot me a dirty look. “How was that cute?”

            “Everything you do is cute to me,” I responded absentmindedly. When I realized what I said, a twinge of embarrassment ran through me, but not enough for Holly to notice. I’d have to be careful about speaking without thinking.

            A pleased look came across her face. “I…”

            “Here,” I said, saving her the need to reply to my comment by handing her over my fork with another piece of steak on it.

            “Thanks,” she mumbled, taking it.

            “Don’t thank me. I don’t mind sharing with you.”

            Holding my gaze, I saw a grimace pass across her face. “Hey, Chris?”

            “Yes?” For some reason I was feeling a little wary. After knowing her and watching her for so long, I could tell that expression meant she was about to say something I wouldn’t like.

            She take a deep breath and I knew whatever she was about to say wouldn’t be good. “Aaron knows Shawn.”

            My mind was filled with a thousand different things at once. The main one being hunting down Aaron and breaking his neck. Was Holly telling the truth? How could Aaron know Shawn? How did she know he knew him? Why was she bringing this up now? It was the worst possible moment. Steadying myself, I smiled politely at her. “I want to try the chicken.”

            Usually her confused face would cause my stomach to clench, but this time it had no affect on me whatsoever. “Huh?”

            I ignored her, focusing on retrieving a piece of her chicken. I needed to stay calm. Placing it in my mouth, I chewed it slowly, realizing it was a little too chewy to be healthy. “Undercooked,” I declared.

            Holly stared at me, totally bewildered. “Chris, I—”

            “Want a piece of steak?” I interjected immediately.

            “No, I—”

            “More for me,” I stated simply.

            Her eyes widened in disbelief and she stayed silent for a moment. Then she spoke up. “Chris, Aaron knows—”

            Couldn’t she take a hint? I didn’t want to discuss this right now. Forcing a fake yawn, I stretched widely. “I wonder what kind of deserts they have here…”

            “Mr. Heywood!” she burst out angrily.

            It’d been awhile since I heard that. Now that I was used to her calling me Chris, it sounded sexy. Inwardly, I hit myself. I’d already had enough creepy thoughts for the day.

             “I’m trying to tell you something!” she continued, nearly yelling. “Stop interrupting me!”

            Even though I was annoyed with her ignorance to my reluctance to talk about this, her raising her voice to me amused me. It was rare. I decided to tease her again. “Mr. Heywood?”

            Apparently she was in no mood for banter. “Chris, whatever!”

            “Why would you ruin a nice dinner by saying that?” I demanded flatly, deciding beating around the bush wasn’t working.

            Her expression fell. “Huh?”

            I stared at her sternly. “You know, Holly.”

            “I-I just thought you’d want to know,” she responded, her voice faltering under my gaze.

            The next words left my lips before I could stop them. “You really know how to ruin the mood.”

            “Sorry,” she snapped, offended.

            Offended was cute. Trying to ease the tension, I chuckled, reaching across the table to put my hand over hers. The difference was incredible. Her hands were so soft, warm, and fragile while mine were rough, large, and weathered. “It’s fine, Holly. Really. But since you brought it up we’re going to talk about it, and you’re going to tell me everything. Got it?” Her habit of leaving out important things wasn’t something I particularly enjoyed.

            “Well the thing is…”

            “Holly.”

            “He didn’t really tell me anything else,” she confessed, lowering her gaze.

            I squeezed her hand softly. “Look up, Holly.”

            Reluctantly, she did so. “Aaron also warned me not to tell you he told me, so make sure he doesn’t find out I told you.”

            My shoulders tensed. “He threatened you?”

            “No, warned,” Holly clarified easily. She didn’t seem the least bit worried.

            Suddenly pissed, I grit my teeth together. Knowing Holly, she was making it seem better than it was. She was too naïve. “It’s the same thing,” I told her brusquely.

            “No, it’s not,” she protested quietly.

            “What are you talking about?” I snapped. “Yes it is. I’m going to force that boy to tell me everything he knows.”

            Holly shook her head vigorously. “No!”

            “Why not?” I demanded. Why was she saying no? He was threatening her! Wasn’t she the least bit worried?

            “You can’t!” she told me, her eyes piercing into mine with an unusual seriousness. “He told me not to tell you!”

            “So?”

            “That means I wasn’t supposed to tell you, but I did because we promised to share everything, so you need to keep it a secret!”

            I sighed. “I can’t do that, Holly.” She should know me better than that.

            It seemed like her frustration was building, but I couldn’t say anything to ease it. I couldn’t lie to her. And I wasn’t going to let Aaron get away with threatening her either. She’d had enough of that for five life times. I’d be damned if I let someone get to her the same way Shawn did again.

            The volcano in her erupted. “This is why I didn’t tell you, Chris!”

            “What is why?” I asked, my grey eyes hard.

            “This!” she explained, gesturing toward me with her hand. “You shove your nose into other people’s business—”

            Other people’s business? What was she talking about? “This is my business.”

            “No! It’s mine! I can take care of it myself!”

            “If it’s connected to Shawn, then it’s mine,” I explained to her in simple terms. “If Aaron knows Shawn, then he needs to be taken care of. I don’t want even the presence of Shawn near you, Holly.”

            She glowered at me. “Taken care…” Shaking her head, she let out a small sigh. “Shawn can’t do anything to me. He’s in jail now.”

            Was she really that naïve? Who did she think Shawn was? If he wanted to, he could probably break out of extreme confinement. “I still need to talk to Aaron, Holly.”

            “What about the consequences?” she asked. “Are you even giving those a thought?”

            I waited a moment while her eyes clouded over with though. Whatever consequences she was thinking of would never be as bad as something happening to her. Why couldn’t she see that? “You’re over thinking it,” I finally spoke. “You worry too much.”

            “You worry too little!” she just about shouted.

            I gave her a warning look, silently telling her to quiet down. It was quite a sight to see her as angry as she was. I’d never seen her so angry before, except maybe that one time she was yelling at Shawn back in the old hide out. But I couldn’t do anything to ease it. She was wrong about this. Even if Shawn didn’t do anything directly to her, if Aaron followed him, the brat would definitely do something. Shawn was manipulative. “Even in jail, Shawn is still dangerous,” I started slowly, trying to explain myself to her. I pinched the bridge of my nose to stay calm. “You’re a trouble magnet, Holly.”

            “You could be in trouble too!” she countered.

            “But I’m not the magnet.”

            She scowled at me. “As long as you don’t say anything to Aaron, we’re fine.”

            I brought my hand back to the table, making a loud thump as it landed on the wood. Her stubbornness wasn’t exactly attractive at the moment. “Holly, drop it. I’m talking with Aaron.”

            She let out a frustrated groan. “No, Chris! If you say something to him he might do something to one of us! Think about it!”

            Like hell I’d let that happen. “He won’t do anything to you,” I assured her.

            “It’s not just about me, Chris! It’s you too!” Concern showed in her eyes. “After last year…”

            My gaze softened. I didn’t want her to remember any of that. “Holly, nothing like that will ever happen again. I promise.”

            “You don’t know that!”

            Didn’t she trust me? “You don’t’ have to be so paranoid.”

            She shook her head. “I’m not!”

            “I won’t let him do anything to you,” I promised her for what seemed like the thousandth time. “Or me,” I added when her mouth opened to protest.

            “You can’t, Chris,” she warned me in a solemn tone.

            I forced a smile at her. “Calm down, Holly. It will be fine.”

            Her hands formed fists and she let out an angry huff of air. “I shouldn’t have told you. I should have known you would react this way.”

            “What way?” I groaned, suddenly feeling weary. Couldn’t she just give it up?

            “You’re not in a gang anymore, Chris. This isn’t how normal people settle things,” she snapped at me.

            Her words were like a kick below the belt and I actually felt physically sick for a moment. My actions weren’t because I’d been in a gang. Why couldn’t she see that? I cared about her! Wasn’t that obvious? Now I couldn’t hold back my anger. “I know I’m not in a gang anymore,” I said through forced teeth.

            “Well you’re acting like it!”

            I shook my head, gritting my teeth to keep from shouting. “I don’t think you understand—”

            “No! You don’t understand!” she cried, her eyes glossing over. “You don’t get it! If something doesn’t happen to me, he might try something on you!”

            Her tears had no affect on me. For once. “I can take care of myself, Holly. You should know that.”

            “That doesn’t matter!” she protested. “Just don’t say anything, please!”

            I crossed my arms. “I want to help you.” Maybe it would get through her head if I repeated it enough.

            After a few moments of silence, she spoke again. “I know, Chris. But please. If anything else happens I’ll let you know, and then you can do something about it— I’ll help you do something about it!”

            She still wasn’t getting the point. “I don’t want anything else to happen though,” I stated bluntly.

            “Chris! Please!” she begged.

            I gave her a wary look. “I’m going to do what I want to do.” Maybe she’d understand why later.

            A hundred different emotions passed over her face. For a moment, I thought she  was going to start crying. Just as I was about to apologize, she spoke. “I shouldn’t have told you.”

            Back to that again? “You promised to tell me.”

            “Yeah, I did, and I kept that promise! The least you could do is keep it a secret like it’s supposed to be!”

            This time I groaned in frustration. “Please, Holly. We’re dropping this. Just eat.”

            “I should have mentioned it to Jeremy.”

            My body froze.

            “He would’ve been more rational about it.”

            Jeremy? She was bringing that stupid blonde into it? What did he have to do with anything? What could he do that I couldn’t? Nothing. That’s what. “Jeremy?” I snorted after a moment.

            “Yes, Jeremy.”

            “The one who punched Aaron the other night,” I said, trying to get her to catch my point.

            She narrowed her eyes at me. “You punched him too.”

            I dropped my fork onto my plate with a loud clatter. Since when was she so much on Jeremy’s side? Since he kissed her? Was that it? One simple thing could replace me so easily? For once, I felt hurt. Which pissed me off. “Jeremy, huh? You go to Jeremy for your problems now?”

            “I—”

            I cut her off. “Fine. You have Jeremy take care of this then.” My voice came out calm, surprising me.

            Holly’s expression became bright. “Thank—”

            Her reaction just pissed me off more. “And while he’s at it, you can have Jeremy take care of you.”

            She inhaled sharply. “Huh?”

            “You seem to like him more than me nowadays, anyway,” I accused, clenching my jaw. It’d been awhile since my heart hurt like this. Probably since the day Holly broke up with me. I hated it. “Neither of you two should mind either, since you’re already dating.”

            Holly stayed quiet, her eyes glued to mine. I waited for her to say something, to yell at me, tell me I was wrong. To tell me she loved me and only me. To say something.

            When nothing came, I stood up from the table. “Here’s money for dinner and a cab,” I told her, throwing all the money from my pocket onto the table. “I’m sure you know Jeremy’s home address.”

            Now tears sprung to her eyes. I felt a pang of guilt, but my anger outweighed it by a hundred times. “Wait, Chris—”

            I turned my back on her, trying to keep my voice steady. “It’s cold, so keep my jacket.” Knowing if I said any more my voice would crack, I headed toward the front of the restaurant.

            “Chris!” I heard her call after me.

             I kept my gaze focused on the exit doors. If I went back now, I’d blow up at her and just cause her to cry more. My hands formed fists and I took deep, slow breaths to keep myself calm. I didn’t have to worry about her. Jeremy had it under control. Like he always did.

            Furious again, I shoved open the exit, barely registering the fact it banged against the wall loudly. The freezing air did little to cool my temper as I stomped over to my car, winging open the door, and sliding in. The engine roared to life and I peeled out of the parking lot, becoming a driving hazard. Pulling out of the driveway entrance, I cut off a car, earning a loud horn blared. Ignoring it, I sped down the street, my hands clenched tightly on the wheel.

            I knew I shouldn’t be driving. I knew I should just pull over and relax, but I couldn’t. No matter which way I looked at it, I couldn’t believe why Holly couldn’t trust me. Why did it matter if I talked to Aaron or not? Did she want to be harassed again? No, that was impossible. Obviously he threatened her not to tell me. But why did she want to keep it a secret? Because she was afraid of him hurting either myself or herself? It was stupid! Why didn’t she think I could take care of myself? Was it because I was a teacher?

            The light in front of me changed from yellow to red and I stomped on the break just as realization settled in. Maybe that was why she didn’t want me involved. If I did anything to Aaron, I would get in trouble because I was a teacher. It would put our relationship on the line. I could get fired, Aaron could tell the staff Holly was dating Jeremy, and we’d have a mess.

            Slamming my hand against the steering wheel in frustration, I realized how much of an asshole I’d been. She was just watching out for me, yet I jumped to conclusions and acted like a dick. And made her cry. And left her alone at a restaurant with no guarantee of a way back home. How much of a douche bag could I be? How immature could I be? I was a twenty-two year old adult, not a sixteen-year-old teenaged brat. It was a wonder Holly even wanted to be with me.

            Ignoring the fact it was still a red light, I pressed on the gas, pulling an illegal u-turn. Thank God there were no cops around. Hurtling back down the street, I was determined to make it back to Holly before she left. Unfortunately, my luck was running out, and I saw the flashing lights of a cop before hearing siren. Swearing loudly, I flipped on my indicator, pulling to the side of the road. This was just what I needed right now.

            The cop took forever and a day to get her lazy ass out of her car and waddle over to me. I rearranged my expression from one of complete annoyance to one of feigned politeness. Rolling down my window, I smiled pleasantly and turned on the charm. “Yes?”

            “Did you realize you were doing fifteen miles over the speed limit?”

            Yes. “No.”

            “I fail to see how you didn’t.”

            I let my expression fall, glancing at my speedometer. “I didn’t mean too… I apologize.”

            The cop squinted at me and it didn’t take a genius to realize she was checking me out. “License and registration,” she demanded.

            Sighing I reached over to my glove compartment and pulled out my registration and handed it to her before pulling out my wallet and fishing out my license. “Here you are, M’am.”

            Without a word, she took both items and shuffled back to her car. Gritting my teeth, I thumped my hand impatiently on my steering wheel. Was Holly still waiting for me? Did she try to walk home? What if she’d been kidnapped? Surely all this worrying wasn’t good for my health. Especially when it was my fault.

            Ten minutes later, just as I was about to blow my fuse, the cop returned, a smile on her face. “Alright, Chris. I’ll let you off with just a warning this time.”

            This surprised me. From all my speeding tickets I’d received from my gang days, I was expecting a license revocation. “Oh, thank you.”

            “Have a good day and keep to the speed limit.”

            “Okay, I will,” I lied.

            I twisted the key in the ignition, pulling back onto the road and driving the speed limit until the cop was out of my sight. Then, I sped back up to ten miles over. When I arrived at Uno I hopped out of my car, nearly sprinting to the entrance. Once in, my eyes went straight to our table, where a new couple was sitting. Panic was starting to set in and I caught sight of our waitress, grabbing her arm and bringing her to a stop. “Excuse me, have you seen the girl I was here earlier with?”

            “Yes, she left about ten minutes ago.”

            “Did you see if someone picked her up or not?”

            The old woman shook her head, smiling sadly. “No, I’m sorry.”

            “It’s okay,” I responded, feeling a hollow spot in my chest. Stumbling back outside, I pulled my cell phone out of my pocket and called Holly’s phone. It wasn’t like I expected her to pick up, but I prayed she would anyway. When she didn’t, I felt my heart sink. Jeremy was my last hope.

            I heard the sound of him picking up the phone and before he could say anything, I spoke. “Jeremy, please tell me Holly’s with you. Don’t fuck around with me either.”

            “Yes, Holly is with me,” he responded easily.

            My shoulders sagged in relief. “Let me talk to her.

            “No, you’re not allowed to talk to her.”

            “I’m not allowed?” I repeated, feeling my anger boiling again. “Why not?”

            “What do you mean why? You know why, Chris. You can’t do shit like that to her.”

            This was a first. Jeremy usually didn’t have the balls to use that tone with me. However, as of the moment, it was just pissing me off more. Maybe I’d woken up on the wrong side of the bed or something. “I just—”

            “I don’t want to hear your excuses,” Jeremy snapped before I could even finish my sentence. “You know he loves you, not me. It hurts her when you accuse her of something like that—”

            So Holly told him what happened. Of course she did. “Well you shouldn’t have kissed her!” I nearly growled.

            “Yes, Chris. I was the one who kissed her,” he stated flatly. “Not the other way around!”

            “Just because you kissed her doesn’t mean she needs to feel the need to tell you everything,” I responded, grimacing at how childish I was sounding.

            “And why do you think that is?”

            I ignored his retort. “Let me talk to her.”

            “No. I’m not letting you talk to her.”

            “Jeremy!”

            “I already took away her phone too, so don’t bother calling.”

            “I want to apologize to her!” I nearly shouted.

            “Yeah, I get that,” he responded. “But you literally left her alone at a restaurant. That’s the worst.”

            Clenching my fists, I tried to calm myself down, aware of the family climbing out of their car across from me. “Jeremy.”

            “She’s staying with me tonight,” he continued, “and I’m bringing her home tomorrow, so don’t worry about it.”

            “She’s staying at your place?” I repeated incredulously. He had to be joking.

            “Yeah.”

            “Bring her to mine!”

            “No.”

            “Shit, Jeremy. I’m not in the mood. Bring her over.”

            “No.”

            “Then just let me talk to her!”

            “She’s busy.” Now I could tell he was having fun messing with me.

            My hand tightened around my phone. “And what is she busy doing?”

            He paused a moment. “Oh, I don’t know, crying her heart out because of the words you said to her.”

            “You’re lying,” I said uneasily.

            “No, I’m not lying!”

             Running a hand through my hair, I sighed. “Jeremy, you don’t understand. I can’t just leave Aaron alone after finding out he’s threatening her—”

            “You better not say one word to Aaron,” he cut me off.

            “What? Why the hell—”

            “We’ll talk about this tomorrow. I’m going to check on Holly. Don’t bother coming over here. I won’t let you in.”

            I narrowed my eyes. “Jeremy, I swear to God—”

            “Goodbye!”

            “Jeremy!” I yelled, realizing he’d hung up on me. Bringing back my arm, I caught myself just before I chucked my phone. Taking deep breaths, I walked over to my car, sliding in and placing my head on the steering wheel. Maybe this was a good thing. Over night I could calm down and then talk to Holly. With a clear head, I was sure not to yell at her again. If I saw her like this… Well, I didn’t want her to see me like this.

            After spending a few minutes calming down, I felt ready to drive. Just before I turned on my car, my phone buzzed on my lap. Immediately I snatched it up, nearly dropping it in my excitement. Warmth flooded through me when I realized it was a text from Holly.

            Night.

            Letting out a shaky chuckle, I rested my head against my seat for a moment. At least now I knew she wasn’t too upset with me. But it was good to know she didn’t forgive me all the way either. I deserved at least some cold attitude from her. Finally, I remembered I had to text her back and sent her a simple text back. Night, Holly.

________________________________________ 

            This was literally twenty pages in Word. It took me forever to write too, haha. I'm not happy with it (just because I don't like writing in Chris's POV because I write too girly) but I am satisfied! I hope you guys like it though c: It's hard to tell what Chris is thinking (even I don't know!) 

            But yeah. Here's a Chris POV. I'll be doing a few of those, soo LEAVE A COMMENT about what chapters you'd like in ASR or APR done in his POV. I'll be doing some random ones. Also, other random oneshots you'd like to see with the cast of APR/ASR. For example, Chris proposing to Holly. Holly finding out she's pregnant, yatta yatta yatta. 

            And like I said at the start, GO VOTE FOR A SURREPTITIOUS RELATIONSHIP IN THE WATTY AWARDS!! :D :D :D